Table 1.

General characteristics of the animals

Groups	Body weight gain (g)	Blood glucose (mg/dL)
Control	147 ± 12	87 ± 2
Diabetic	11 ± 11*	531 ± 26*
Diabetic + insulin	13 ± 12 *	257 ± 15 *†

Rats were rendered diabetic by the injection of alloxan (42 mg/Kg, i.v.), and measurement of body weight was carried out 24 days afterwards. Rats were immunized with OA and blood glucose levels in the 3 groups were determined 6 hours after antigen challenge. Insulin (NPH, 4 IU/rat, s.c.) was administered 2 hours before the intratracheal instillation procedure.Values are means ± SEM. The number of animals in each group was 9. *P < 0.001 comparing diabetic with control (non-diabetic) rats. ^†P < 0.001 comparing insulin-treated vs non-treated diabetic rats.